The man's name is Thomas Syversen, a Norwegian living in Trondheim, the country's third largest city. Syversen saw that Betsson, an online gambling site based in Malta, was offering 175-1 odds that Suarez, who had bitten other players before, would bite someone during the World Cup and, on a hunch, placed the equivalent of a $5.25 bet (3.85 euros) on the first day of action in Brazil.

"I had 32 [Norwegian] krone on it, so it was just for fun," Syversen told ESPN.com.

When Suarez took the apparent bite in the 79th minute, Syversen said he was awoken by a friend who texted him what had just happened.

Sure enough, Syversen checked and the equivalent of $916 (673 euros) was deposited into his account for winning the bet.

Andreas Bardun, sportsbook manager for gambling site Betsson, where Syversen placed his bet, said 167 gamblers placed bets on the prop.

The biggest winner was a Norwegian who won $3,300, he said, but he cited company policy not to disclose any of the names of its bettors.

In the United States, others were getting in on the fun.

The Fort Worth Vaqueros, a minor league soccer team that plays in the National Premier Soccer League, announced Wednesday that it will hand out free Suarez "fangs" to the first 50 fans to its match Sunday.